1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to citation collection and analysis systems, and more particularly to methods, apparatuses, and systems for expeditious indexing of citations listed in published patents and patent applications.
2. Information
In general, intellectual property laws in most jurisdictions require searching for, and analyzing prior art references before an invention is patented. The results of the prior art search are generally published with a granted patent. For example, in the United States, each issued patent includes a list of the references cited on the first page of the published patent. Other jurisdictions have similar procedures. Corporations and individual inventors often utilize the references cited on a published patent when performing prior art searches for a new invention. Prior art searches may also be used when trying to determine the patent landscape during new product development. The results of such prior art searches can be a gating issue in determining whether to prepare and file a patent application, or to launch a new product.
One weakness associated with this type of prior art searching is the time delay between the discovery and submission of a prior art reference, and then its appearance in a published patent. For example, in the U.S. the average pendency of a patent application is approximately 3.5 years. This delay can impact the value of the results gleaned from a prior art search. Providing a user the ability to search and analyze the citations associated with a pre-issue patent application can improve the results of a prior art search.